Lawn aeration is a vital component of any lawn care maintenance program. Aeration, which is often times performed two or more times a year, entails creating numerous small holes in the ground to increase air and oxygen absorption into the soil. Further, the holes also increase the amount of moisture that penetrates the soil, and enhances new grass seed growth and root development.
There have been numerous devices devised in the past for aerating a lawn. Such devices include shoes that are worn on the feet to aerate the lawn as the wearer walks on the lawn, devices that are manually pulled or pushed across the lawn to create aeration, and aeration machines that are specifically made for aeration only. Each of these approaches is time consuming, labor intensive and/or requires the purchase of expensive equipment having a single use only.
Another approach to aeration has been to utilize an aerator that attaches to a lawn mower so as to aerate as the lawn mower traverses the lawn. Examples of aerator attachments are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,579,847; 5,586,604; and 5,623,996, each of which discloses an aerator that can be attached to the rear of a self-propelled mower such that the mower provides the power for pulling the aerator over the lawn.
While previous lawn aerator attachments have performed generally satisfactorily, there is a continuing need in the lawn care industry for an improved lawn aerator that is attachable to a piece of mechanized lawn care equipment for aerating the lawn as the piece of equipment is driven over the lawn.